Are 44 Revolvers Dying?

Was there ever a huge market for 44 revolvers ? IMHO, part of a "natural" ebb and flow. At LGS last week, noticed several 44 cal revolvers in the case- many more than a few months ago. Lever guns were falling out of trend for a while, suddenly there is a lever gun craze - even introduction of a "new" caliber [360] that is really just an update of an old cartridge [35 Rem]. I asked LGS about 357 carbine, they said sure - join the wait list. List of pistol caliber lever guns is growing, Tombstone 9 mm lever is an example. Also, recent Ruger and S&W 44 Mag lever gun additions. I think this will echo into 44 revolvers as people will realize the utility of revolver and rifle of the same cartridge - hardly a new concept. Henry marketed a limited edition 357 revolver/lever combo. Also I think black gun shooters are getting tired of the pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew ............. for 10 seconds. Dad's 44 revolver wasn't so bad after all. Biggest seller's regret I have is trading a 44 Special Ruger Lipsey Bisley grip for another passion - what the heck was I thinking ?

These are just my thoughts and opinions.....


Im one of 3 people i (personally) know who shoot a .44 of any sort regularly. I know and few others that own them, but not many.
Does that mean the market is dying/deadish? perhaps when compared to how robust the poly-blaster market is.
But gone entirely is a different thing all together.

44s and other big revolvers arnt really as practical as smaller revolvers and autos, not particularly more useful except in situations 90+ percent of shooters will never find themselves in. They are also significantly more expensive.

They are also fun, nostalgic, and brutally good at poking big holes in things (usually bigger things, that need big holes poked in them).

But for all of those reasons there are limits to the number of folks who have a pile of them.....know theres at least a few on this forum...where as "cheap", easily fed, and more "practical" autos and smaller revolvers will often become an accumulation for more folks.
Still most every serious shooter will probably get one or two or a few eventually.

Ill probably get another 1 or 2 myself.

I don't know I have a Super BH and Henry Carbine in .44 Mag that I have shot for years. They both have not seen much action since I got into the .38/.357 mag game. I really like the round and enjoy shooting the .44 Mag but have drifted into another direction. To heavily invested in .44 mag reloading components to quit completely...

Gee I hope not. As soon as I get some projects done around the house, another 44 is going into the safe. Just not sure if it's a Ruger, Smith, or Colt.
I, like @JDeere , have gotten into 357s lately. In fact, more than I thought I would, but the 44s I have still see plenty of action. The ability to handload is a plus in owning a 44. Factory magnum loadings might be a bit much for some people, and finding 44 special on the shelf can be a challenge. When you do find it, there usually isn't much of a selection, but shops vary with what they put on the shelves. That in itself probably factors in to the popularity. Then the cost of that ammo... I guess it's not easy to want to own a big bore revolver when 9mm on the shelf for $10.99/50 and 44mag/spl is 5x that. 38/357 are I guess fairly reasonable too, although I've never bought a box of either let alone price it.
I don't think 44 will ever die off, but there's only going to be a certain type of person who wants one or several. I and alot of you others fall into that category

Hell no. There have been more .44's on the market in the last 10-15yrs than at any other time in history. Mike Venturino has a limited scope in his shooting interests. He only likes the old stuff. He doesn't do heavy loads or hunt with pistols. Probably never even shot a .44Mag. Sorry Mike but nobody is buying 9mm instead of .44 because it's cheap. There's virtually no overlap there. They're buying semi-autos instead of revolvers. Chambering has nothing to do with it.

.44 Russian and .44 WCF are boutique cartridges at this point. Other than cowboy reproductions, no one makes modern guns chambered in 'em. The last modern design to be chambered in .44 WCF was the S&W Model 544 "Texas Wagon Train" and that was back in the early 1980s and less than 4,000 of them were made. They were a commercial flop and now are simply collector pieces. .44 WCF will never regain the popularity it once had back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And .44 Russian was dead the moment .44 Special hit the market.

.44 Special has had a bit of a resurgence. You have Charter Arms still making the Bulldog in various flavors. Plus, you have Ruger chambering the GP100 along with the Blackhawk and Vaquero in it. It'll never be hugely popular, but it'll always have its niche in the market. And that niche is being a compact, but powerful big bore cartridge.

.44 Magnum is still the king of the "big bore" world in terms of sales and pop culture. The big four commercial revolver manufacturers (S&W, Ruger, Colt, and Taurus) all make .44 Magnum chambered guns. Plus, the glut of .44 Magnum lever actions being made too.

A lot of younger shooters are into black guns and rightfully should be. But they get bored with the modern stuff and I'm seeing a lot of younger shooters with some folding money starting to get into blued steel and wooden stocks as a way to explore and branch out. Revolvers have had an uptick in popularity with younger shooters due to them watching older shows and films. The cop dramas and anti-hero vigilante films of the 1970s-1990s are really pushing it.

The same is happening with milsurps and DA/SA autos too. They're tired of the tricked-out ZEV GLOCKs and Gucci branded ARs. They're starting to dabble with Ruger P Series along with SIG P Series guns. They're snatching up Beretta 92s and SKS Carbines. Winchester and Marlin 30-30s are becoming hip and cool. And revolvers, man, I see more and more younger shooters really buying revolvers on the used market. They're buying up S&W K-Frames buy the bucket load as cool relics of a bygone era to take to the range. And that is the gateway drug to them getting into S&W N-Frames, Colt MM-Frames, and Ruger Large Frame revolvers.

MV's article reminds me of Wiley Clapp's "Screw the .44 Special" article years ago. He was nearly burned at the stake for it.

I would buy a 454 over a 43 mag because if bigger is required then go bigger. If I'm going to be labeled a fud mise well go all the way....

AJC1 said:

I would buy a 454 over a 43 mag because if bigger is required then go bigger. If I'm going to be labeled a fud mise well go all the way....

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The .454 really limits your choices and they're all big & heavy.

CraigC said:

The .454 really limits your choices and they're all big & heavy.

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I would think all the big six guns would be carried in a chest rig for woods adventures... my use case might be different. This would be what I had on a hog hunt with the boy.... the area has gator bear and big hogs.

When I'm away from civilization, I'm packing something in .44 or greater... .

Got a 59 OM Flattop, never shoot it, got a NM Flattop 44 special, rarely shoot it. No need for a 44 when there are 45's around, and a 41. But I do love my 44-40's, got 7 of those and they get shot regularly.

I don't think so. The .44 will always have its place between smaller calibers and the mega-magnums. Not everyone wants to shoot a .454 Casull or .460 S&W, but a .44 Mag can be handled by most people with a bit of training. I shoot a .41 Mag, but will probably buy a .44 in the near future. I used to own a .44 Mag Desert Eagle. Even the .44-40 is still perfect for feeding into a lever-action rifle. The .44 Special has its fans also and can fit into smaller frame revolvers. So, I can't see the .44 revolvers disappearing at all. A revolver can do things that are impossible for a semi-auto (and vice-versa), the main one being the delivery of a lot of power in a relatively small package. What the author seems to forget is that those youngsters using semi-autos will grow older and might look into revolvers later... I know, I was a semi-auto guy only for decades, before using mainly revolvers now. I don't know all the reasons for this phenomenon to take place and why revolvers are an "old man's game," but I suspect one of the reasons is that older reloaders don't like to pick up brass all over the place... Personally, L5 is one of the reasons I like revolvers! I don't think it's a matter of period either, and older shooters will probably still prefer revolvers a hundred years from now. Let's face it, after 50, we are slower shooting and reloading. With that in mind, a more powerful round could just be the ticket. Now, I'm not foolish enough to say that a revolver is a better choice for self-defence, because for most they aren't, but IMHO a big bore revolver is superior for the woods, and the .44 covers everything.
Gil.

AJC1 said:

I would think all the big six guns would be carried in a chest rig for woods adventures... my use case might be different. This would be what I had on a hog hunt with the boy.... the area has gator bear and big hogs.

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Could be but nothing packs on the hip like a 629MG. Still, plain few examples of comparable .454's. I reckon I would just say that for normal use, the .454 is a whole lot of what most folks don't need.

Nah, it's not dying. It's not a fair comparison comparing big bore revolvers to polymer autos. It's a completely different market.
Sure some people have .44s to go to the range and have fun with them, and that's fine. But many people get them to hunt with. No one is looking for a hunting handgun and saying to themselves, "Man, this 9mm is so much cheaper, I think I'm going to go that route."
There are a lot more people out there who are into shooting as a hobby and want a gun that covers all the bases they want to cover such as having fun at the range, competition shooting, home defense, concealed carry etc. So of course those guns will outsell the big revolvers. They're not even marketed to the same people. Doesn't mean the .44 is dead, or even close.

What does "dying" mean anyways?

CraigC said:

Could be but nothing packs on the hip like a 629MG. Still, plain few examples of comparable .454's. I reckon I would just say that for normal use, the .454 is a whole lot of what most folks don't need.

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Buddy let me shoot his 454 once. Loaded six rounds, shot two and handed the four back to him. Had no interest in shooting that gun again...

Mostly Lead said:

What does "dying" mean anyways?

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It means Venturino is trying to be controversial.

Mostly Lead said:

Buddy let me shoot his 454 once. Loaded six rounds, shot two and handed the four back to him. Had no interest in shooting that gun again...

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I'm with you.
The .44 magnum is definitely at the top of my recoil limit. A few cylinders of full throttle loads, and I always end up finishing the day shooting .44 specials. lol
Of course my .44 mag has a 4 5/8" barrel and a plowhandle grip frame so it doesn't really do a good job of handling recoil. I need to get one on a Bisley frame. They say there's a world of difference.

IMHO, the .44-40 can go away at any time. Any and all current .44-40 guns can henceforth be chambered in .44 Special.

JohnKSa said:

Here we are talking about something he wrote. When was the last time that happened?

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Exactly!

CraigC said:

MV's article reminds me of Wiley Clapp's "Screw the .44 Special" article years ago. He was nearly burned at the stake for it.

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And then Ruger makes a GP100 in .44 Special and they release with his name slapped on it.

Hmm. Won't be the first time Venturino has stuck his foot in it. Just sayin'.

Miami_JBT said:

And then Ruger makes a GP100 in .44 Special and they release with his name slapped on it.

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They did a Colt SAA in his name, all blue, chambered in .44 Special.